Time
by Daunyel Shaffer
Summary: Jean fights with the Reaper to save his son;s lives from the demons that have come after them. A crash that seems to have taken its toll is only the beginning.


TIME

 _The cries echo inside my head_

John had felt those cries for a very long time when he went his separate ways with Dean. He hadn't meant to leave his son to do his own hunt, but the Demon was just far too powerful for them and he had to separate himself from his sons or they would all wind up dead.

He remembered those tears; Dean had felt as if he'd done something wrong and that his father was punishing him by leaving. Far be told, he had no clue that John was doing this to save his life and when John got into that truck and drove off, he remembered those tears in his head.

 _Tears of blood upon my hands_

The blood had belonged to the girl that he had not gotten to in time. Such a young, pretty thing and gone from life. The demon had killed her in hopes of trapping the Winchester family, yet as John solely killed the thing slowly, did it realize that vengeance was a bitch and John would make them pay dearly.

His hands were now tainted with blood, an image that would surely follow him for the rest of his life. He had no time to deal with the consequences, another hunt, another thing to kill and that was what he was going to do.

 _A soul lost in this raging war_

That had been his friend and comrade Pastor Jim that lost his life. The Demon wanted anyone close to his family to die. First Caleb and now Jim. The anger in John was growing and the Demon was going to pay dearly for murdering his friends.

 _One life taken, another spared_

John had gotten back with Dean and now Sam to hunt the Demon. It had killed Jess, Sam's girlfriend and it was growing stronger. The Colt was in their possession, yet the Demon wanted more and when they attacked and nearly killed it when it captured his body, did he realize that the game was still on. Dean and Sam were hurt, he was shot and they had to get out of this place before they died. Dean needed medical attention and was bearing the pain not so well.

Sam got them into the Impala and drove off down the road. He sped dangerously down the slick pavement, concentrating only on the image of the hospital and his family's life. The headlights of the truck came out of nowhere and then there was darkness as the Demon got to them.

Hours later they were in the hospital, Sam and John stable, but Dean in a coma. Sam knew that his brother refused to die and when odd things began to happen around him did he know Dean was alive.

Sam had been released and was trying to find Dean with the Ouija board. Nothing worked but Sam knew in his heart that his father knew that his son was alive and that he was in danger. So Sam raced back to the hospital and found his father's bed empty. He shook his head in disbelief as he searched for his father to help save Dean.

But John was a few steps ahead in the game and was already summoning the Demon to him. When he appeared he asked why John called him and John told him he could have his life if only to save Dean. The Demon smiled evilly and granted the wish, John was dead and Dean alive.

 _But through it all I've come to be_

 _The salvation of this indecisive defeat_

 _The world will burn by my touch_

 _Withering beneath all I've condemned_

John watched from his hellish cage of Dean and Sam fighting and continuing his life long hunt. The reaper had gotten its way; it held one Winchester within its grasp. The world was suffering, nearly because John had awakened the Demon years ago, but the power Sam controlled was the reason why Hell was reigning on Earth.

There would be no salvation for this world, not from where he stood. Dean and Sam had some very rough weeks ahead of them, and Sam's life depended solely on Dean's promise to kill him if he ever turned evil. John could tell that Dean wouldn't do it, that Sam was too precious for him to kill and when it came to killing that werewolf, Sam cried his eyes out and it tore at John.

 _So follow my lead and take my hand_

 _I'll grant you just but one wish_

 _Forget this life you hold onto so dear_

 _There's more to the world than you see_

The reaper looked to John and grimaced as one day the Demon got too close to Sam and nearly destroyed him. John was biding his time, wondering when it would be right to kill the reaper and take on the Demon once more. But this reaper was far too advanced, too wise for him and knew every step before he did. John had to help his boys; they were all he had left.

"I'll grant you one wish John. One and only one. Think hard and long. Remember you are dead to the world, you cannot go back but you can save your boys."

John did as he was told and thought hard and long and said, "Kill the Demon and erase my boys' minds of this ordeal. Only then will I be free to be by your side."

The reaper nodded, and closed its eyes, John felt at peace finally and all was done. There was more to their lives than he would ever know. He would watch them from the heavens in which he sought. He was free at last, and his sons were free from their tormented lives.

 _Now my screams break like glass_

John screamed as the glass pierced into him as he opened his eyes. The accident had come back to haunt him. Dean and Sam were trying desperately to save him but the car fell more into the ravine, crushing him beneath its weight.

"Dad!" Sam cried as the car crashed into the trees. Another scream pierced the night as the car slammed hard into the ravine.

 _I'm lying upon their shards ever so dangerously_

The shards tore into his skin, killing him slowly as the night enclosed around him. He could barely hear his son's voices, his eyes heavy and his breathing slowing.

 _I'm dying ever so slowly, you see_

The night seemed to come to a stand-still; John felt his breath catch in his throat, a single tear falling down his cheek. He closed his eyes as he felt no more. His life gone in an instant, the way it should have been.

 _My life forgotten in the ashes of time_

He was buried three days later, Sam and Dean had placed him next to their mother, his beloved wife Mary. As they turned their backs on the gravestone, did the angel perched upon the granite cry, a tear of destiny yet to die.

Poem written by Daunyel


End file.
